Thinking Like an Economist: A Guide to Rational Decision Making

Economic forces are everywhere around you. But that doesn't mean you need to passively accept whatever outcome those forces might press upon you. Instead, with these 12 fast-moving and crystal clear lectures, you can learn how to use a small handful of basic nuts-and-bolts principles to turn those same forces to your own advantage.

Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion

Jazz is a uniquely American art form, one of America's great contributions to not only musical culture, but world culture, with each generation of musicians applying new levels of creativity that take the music in unexpected directions that defy definition, category, and stagnation.

Now you can learn the basics and history of this intoxicating genre in an eight-lecture series that is as free-flowing and original as the art form itself.

1066: The Year That Changed Everything

With this exciting and historically rich six-lecture course, experience for yourself the drama of this dynamic year in medieval history, centered on the landmark Norman Conquest. Taking you from the shores of Scandinavia and France to the battlefields of the English countryside, these lectures will plunge you into a world of fierce Viking warriors, powerful noble families, politically charged marriages, tense succession crises, epic military invasions, and much more.Your journey starts in the 10th and early 11th centuries, when power in England and Normandy was very much up for grabs-and when the small island nation was under continuous assault from Viking forces. Professor Paxton helps you gain a solid grasp of the complex political alliances and shifting relationships between figures such as Emma of Normandy, Cnut, and Edward the Confessor. She also recounts for you the two seminal battles that pitted England against the Scandinavians and the Normans: the Battle of Stamford Bridge and the Battle of Hastings. Throughout the lectures, Dr. Paxton opens your eyes to continued debates and controversies over this year and offers her own take on the Norman Conquest's enduring legacy and the fascinating results of this epic clash. By exploring the year 1066-what led up to it, what happened during that fateful year, and what changed as a result-you'll gain a sharper perspective and a greater understanding of everything that would come afterward.

The American Civil War

Between 1861 and 1865, the clash of the greatest armies the Western hemisphere had ever seen turned small towns, little-known streams, and obscure meadows in the American countryside into names we will always remember. In those great battles, those streams ran red with blood-and the United States was truly born.

Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior

Every day of your life is spent surrounded by mysteries that involve what appear to be rather ordinary human behaviors. What makes you happy? Where did your personality come from? Why do you have trouble controlling certain behaviors? Why do you behave differently as an adult than you did as an adolescent?Since the start of recorded history, and probably even before, people have been interested in answering questions about why we behave the way we do.

Who Rules the World?: Reframings

Internationally renowned political commentator Noam Chomsky examines America's pursuit and exercise of power in a post-9/11 world. Noam Chomsky is the world's foremost intellectual activist. Over the last half century, no one has done more to question the great global powers who govern our lives, forensically scrutinizing policies and actions, calling our politicians, institutions and media to account. The culmination of years of work, Who Rules the World? is Chomsky's definitive intellectual investigation into the major issues of our times.

Food: A Cultural Culinary History

Eating is an indispensable human activity. As a result, whether we realize it or not, the drive to obtain food has been a major catalyst across all of history, from prehistoric times to the present. Epicure Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said it best: "Gastronomy governs the whole life of man."

Medieval Heroines in History and Legend

This series of 24 fascinating lectures draws on the latest modern scholarship to explore the lives of four medieval women who still shimmer in the modern imagination: Heloise, the abbess and mistress of Abelard; the prophet Hildegard of Bingen; Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine; and Joan of Arc. These lectures exemplify today's golden age of medieval scholarship, in which the role women played in medieval life is being clarified for the first time.

The Theory of Evolution: A History of Controversy

Charles Darwin's theory of organic evolution-the idea that life on earth is the product of purely natural causes, not the hand of God-set off shock waves that continue to reverberate through Western society, and especially the United States. What makes evolution such a profoundly provocative concept, so convincing to most scientists, yet so socially and politically divisive? These 12 eye-opening lectures are an examination of the varied elements that so often make this science the object of strong sentiments and heated debate.

Great Again: How to Fix Our Crippled America

In this book (previously published as Crippled America), we're going to look at the state of the world right now. It's a terrible mess, and that's putting it mildly. There has never been a more dangerous time. The politicians and special interests in Washington, DC, are directly responsible for the mess we are in. So why should we continue listening to them?

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Whether complete or only fragmentary, the 930 extant Dead Sea Scrolls irrevocably altered how we look at and understand the foundations of faith and religious practice. Now you can get a comprehensive introduction to this unique series of archaeological documents, and to scholars' evolving understanding of their authorship and significance, with these 24 lectures. Learn what the scrolls are, what they contain, and how the insights they offered into religious and ancient history came into focus.

The Foundations of Western Civilization

What is Western Civilization? According to Professor Noble, it is "much more than human and political geography," encompassing myriad forms of political and institutional structures - from monarchies to participatory republics - and its own traditions of political discourse. It involves choices about who gets to participate in any given society and the ways in which societies have resolved the tension between individual self-interest and the common good.

The Remains of the Day

A contemporary classic, The Remains of the Day is Kazuo Ishiguro's beautiful and haunting evocation of life between the wars in a Great English House. In the summer of 1956, Stevens, the ageing butler of Darlington Hall, embarks on a leisurely holiday that will take him deep into the countryside - and into his past.

A Tale of Two Cities

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'; so the recording begins and ends with some of Dickens's best-known words, and between those lines is every Briton's view of the worst excesses of the French Revolution. Set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution, the audiobook tells the story of a French doctor who is imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille in Paris. Upon his release, he moves to London with his daughter, Lucie, whom he had never met.

The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World

Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.

Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills

No skill is more important in today's world than being able to think about, understand, and act on information in an effective and responsible way. What's more, at no point in human history have we had access to so much information, with such relative ease, as we do in the 21st century. But because misinformation out there has increased as well, critical thinking is more important than ever. These 24 rewarding lectures equip you with the knowledge and techniques you need to become a savvier, sharper critical thinker in your professional and personal life.

A History of Britain in 21 Women

Britain has been defined by its conflicts, its conquests, its men and its monarchs. To say that it's high time it was defined by its women is a severe understatement. Jenni Murray draws together the lives of 21 women to shed light upon a variety of social, political, religious and cultural aspects of British history. In lively prose Murray reinvigorates the stories behind the names we all know and reveals the fascinating tales behind those less familiar.

Brave New World

On the 75th anniversary of its publication, this outstanding work of literature is more crucial and relevant today than ever before. Cloning, feel-good drugs, anti-aging programs, and total social control through politics, programming and media: has Aldous Huxley accurately predicted our future? With a storyteller's genius, he weaves these ethical controversies in a compelling narrative that dawns in the year 632 A. F. (After Ford, the deity).

48 Laws of Power

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills 3,000 years of the history of power into 48 well-explicated laws. This bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other infamous strategists. The 48 Laws of Power will fascinate any listener interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.

Books That Matter: The Analects of Confucius

With these 24 accessible lectures, enjoy an adventurous exploration of one of the world's most important philosophical texts. Filled with rich historical context, detailed close readings of key passages, expert interpretations of larger cultural trends, and stories of Confucius and his most notable students (and critics), these lectures are required learning for anyone who wants a solid understanding of Eastern philosophy - and the ways a single book can cross cultures and go on to inspire an entire world.

International Relations: A Very Short Introduction

In the post-September 11th arena of growing political tension and unease, it is more important than ever that we understand the changing world of modern international relations. With this comprehensive and accessible book, Paul Wilkinson covers the topics that are essential to our knowledge of this complex subject. He explains the theories and the practices that underlie international relations, and investigates issues ranging from foreign policy, arms control, and terrorism, to the environment and world poverty.

The Story of Human Language

Language defines us as a species, placing humans head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators. But it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries, allowing us to ponder why different languages emerged, why there isn't simply a single language, how languages change over time and whether that's good or bad, and how languages die out and become extinct.

No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life

What is life? What is my place in it? What choices do these questions obligate me to make? More than a half-century after it burst upon the intellectual scene - with roots that extend to the mid-19th century - Existentialism's quest to answer these most fundamental questions of individual responsibility, morality, and personal freedom, life has continued to exert a profound attraction.

Publisher's Summary

Knowing what to possibly expect from the future of the global economy presents an enormous opportunity for you to better prepare yourself for the momentous challenges and possibilities of tomorrow. Now you can, with this provocative six-lecture series. Offering pointed looks at the economic past, present, and possible futures of these three powerful nations, these lectures will have you finally grasping the intricate nature of our world economy and the driving forces responsible for where it will stand in years to come.

Professor Rodriguez's lectures are the perfect way to witness just how these three economies have gotten where they are today. Central to this series are revealing answers to some of your most pressing questions about the current state of the global economy and its future. How long will the United States remain at the top of the global economic ladder? What forces are responsible for China's and India's spectacular growth over the last two decades? When and why might China's and India's rapid annual growth rates slow down?

In addition to bringing you up to speed with the economic stories of these three world powers, these lectures also provide you with insights into the next decades of the world economy and the new economic order currently being forged.

Throughout the lectures, Professor Rodriguez uses his keen economist's eye to report ideas, trends, and possible outcomes you can expect to see as China and India continue to reach (and possibly even supersede) the economic power of the United States. So join him for this chance to find out, before everyone else, just what to expect from the economies of China, India, and the United States.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

This Great Course Audio-book unfortunately lacks any scientific merit.

This is a political manifesto for the american right as to why, in Professor Peter Rodriguez opinion, the USA (or "we" as Rodriguez says) will continue to reign supreme.

This is not aimed at you as a student of international politics or macro economics. It is not even aimed at you unless you are an American. US citizen/we/ours/us are used as synonyms throughout the lecture.

According to Rodriguez political manifesto all good things come from a free market economy. A prime example of Rodriguez political agenda is clear when he omits to mention the lack of enforcement of regulations at the heart of the 2008/9 financial crisis.

I feel so much better about our world now after completing this course. The knowledge that I gained from this lecture has replaced a lot of the fear with a strong understanding of the possibilities that we face now and in the future. <br/><br/>Also, the professor was a great speaker and made everything easy to understand for almost anyone. I liked this one so much that I just finished his other lecture on Why Economies Rise or Fall. If you choose that one you may not need this one; however, you will miss some great and fascinating details on china and India.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Frank

Omagh, NY, United States

22/07/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"A very good overview"

This recording gives a very good overview of the current state of what it predicts will be the 3 most important economies over the coming century. The authour presents a balanced narrative with a short history of each of these 3 economies and predictions about what is likely to happen in the future.

The narration is delivered by the authour and is interesting and easy to listen to. If I have any gripe about the book, it is that I was left wanting more.

Well worth a listen.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Deep Reader

Earth

11/12/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Easy to Understand"

The topic of this book could discourage you from spending one credit on it. How can a lecture about the comparative economies of three nations with rich, complex histories be interesting? But if you've ever asked about the future value of the money in your pocket, this is a welcome addition to your library. It goes through the past few decades in each nation, then explores the future possibilities. Simple, educational and can be enjoyed in a single afternoon.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Ankit Bhutani

15/05/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Too short"

There is a lot more that can be said about the topic. I think the series was unnecessarily short. It provides a good overview but skims over a lot of important details. Would have loved to listen to a more detailed analysis.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Kindle Customer

Cincinnati, OH

10/05/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"no depth"

good book but no real depth. well thought out and logical but should be read by beginners.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Kedareshwar

Bangalore, India

04/07/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Very good review"

Past history of the India, China and US is covered in detail, coming to the present and future situation still more detailed study and review should have been presented. Concluding chapter is lacking the depth.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

DaRayl D. Davis

Washington, DC

11/05/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Excellent Global Economic Insights"

Professor Rodriguez delivered an engaging and enlightening series of lectures. I highly recommend this work!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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